Lynn's Revenge
by Immatureboys
Summary: When Lincoln gets hurt, Lynn's takes it up upon herself to find and hunt down her and Lincoln's assailant to deliver some payback.
1. Ambushed

Author's Note: This is my First Loud House Fanfiction, taking a break from my usual stories. And yes I do watch the show and have been keeping up with it. For the longest time, I thought about doing Brawl in the Family and No Such Luck fanfics, but with the outstanding number, it seems to be really redundant. So I decided to make my own, so enjoy.

* * *

It was a sunny evening had struck as the Royal Wood Squirrels battled the next conquering team. Both teams were tied in points, so it was up to either team to break the tie. Leading the team the Squirrels team of Royal Wood was Lynn Loud, striving to keep the defending title of her sports nature. There she was up to bat, she spit out flim and pounded her bat to the dirt. She faced off the eyes of the changing team, the Chicago Pirates.

The pitcher stared at the umpire. As he gave different fingers of what kind of ball to throw, he either exchanged a shake or a nod. Nevertheless, Lynn was ready for anything as she gripped her wooden bat.

"Here's the windup and the pitch!" The host announced .

As the ball was tossed, Lynn caught sight of the ball. And with correct and précised timing, she struck the ball. Neither team could not catch the ball as it soared high up. It was a official home run. She glee with passionate excitement as she run from base to base. After reaching home base, victory was hers as the team rushed her with a bucket full of great gaderade.

"Way to go Lynn, you were awesome out there." Lincoln rushed down to greet her as well with a high five pose.

"Thanks Lincoln," Lynn high five her brother with happiness. "Once again, the Royal Woods Squirrels climb to the top."

After a long Pizza Party to celebrate their victory , Lynn and Lincoln walked home that night. She still held the proudness of triumph win on her face. She felt that each step only brought her further to the big leagues. Lincoln was just glad to see her happy. Lynn turned to face Lincoln. "Thanks for coming again to my big game Lincoln while everyone else was busy." She said.

"No problem Lynn, I had nothing better to do. I was just glad to see you kick butt once again."

"You expect anything less from an athlete like me. We sent those pirates sailing."

"So we going to do this or what?" One person asked the other guy, keeping tabs on Lynn.

As their conversation continued, little did they know they were being watched. Out of the dark bushes, a group of shadowy boys spied on her. When the cost was clear, they put on their mask.

"So I said..." Lynn paused the joke as her and Lincoln was ambushed to the front. Three guys wereing a jacket and a ski mask approved them. Lynn encouraged Lincoln to stay behind her as the boys in the mask step forward.

"If your here to rob us, you won't find it easy." Lynn said.

"Let's just make this quick," Lincoln stated that about to pull out his wallet. But Lynn had stopped him from doing so.

"Your victory was cute, however, not cleaver." One of the mask individual said and by his young, Lynn could tell he was young, presumably her age. "We had a lot riding on this game and you ruined it." One of the mask drew a switch blade. "So we're going to take it out on you."

"Lynn," Lincoln advised.

"Don't worry Lincoln, I got this." Lincoln said easing Lincoln's worries. "They're not going get anything from us."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Lincoln tried to warn.

Dispute his warning, Lynn charged at the attackers. With her trained martial arts skills, she was able to prove a match for the aggressors, much to the shock. So it seems their efforts have proven futile. Neither of the mask individuals was able to land one hit on her, not that it matter to them as one thing was still clear to them.

While the other two were down, Lynn was left with the one holding a switch blade. With her back turned, this gave him the time strike.

"Lynn watch out!" Lincoln cried out.

The sound of a deep impale was another make. Her eyes filled with horrify shock over the sight of her brother, collapse on the ground, hurt by the stab wound infected on his chest. Realizing that was not plan, the mask guy and his gang took his leave. Lynn grabbed him by the jacket, only tear it off a reveal the opposite team logo on the back. It was dark so she could make it out fully.

"Lincoln!" Lynn called out applying pressure to his wound, keeping the blood from leaking. "On, no, no, no, someone help!" Lynn screamed.

It was intense scary situation, but the Whit haired boy was saved by the ambulance. Medical Team worked constantly to keep the boy breathing spirit up. The young jock watched hopelessly as her brother was taken into surgery. Lots of thoughts went into her mind as she was in the waiting room, guilt, weakness, stubbornness and so on. She felt like she lost and not just the game.

Soon enough, the family was here. Their worried expressions pretty much said it all for them. All of them had to look up devastation that they're only son and only brother was critically injured. Rita was in tears the whole way worried on the well being of her son. Lori and Leni had deep worry for Lincoln. Luna also felt the ache in her heart brother hurt like this. The twins were the same as soon as they heard the news on Lincoln. Lisa and Lucy being the most deadpan also express the concern even if it was not usefully shown.

Lynn Sr embraced his daughter out of worry and relief. "Are you okay sweetheart?" He asked.

"I don't know." It was the only response she can give at the very moment, no doubt still torn over the outcome.

"Hello and you Mister and Mrs. Loud?" The doctor greeted the family.

"Yes, we're the Louds." Lynn Sr answered.

"How is our son, is he...?" Rita asked deeply worried.

"I am Dr. Oharris. And don't worry he is fine; He just got out of surgery. He was stabbed in his stomach to his pelvis, very painful. For a boy his age, he is quite strong. Unfortunately, we are going to have keep him here for a overnight."

The family glanced at the young boy peaceful sleeping expression. It was almost like he was a young infant again. Rita went in close and stroked his freckled check. Dispute being woozy, the touch alone was enough to wake him and see his whole family.

"Oh hey guys, what are you doing here?" Lincoln asked trying to sit up. Luna helped him to sitting level. As their eyes was met glad he was okay, the sisters went in for a group hug much to his discomfort. "Easy guys not too much pressure, you're going to pop the stitches."

"Stitches? I thought this was a hospital or are you wearing loose clothing." Leni replied, clueless as ever.

Lisa took sign and corrected her, "No Leni, he means stitches for his injuries, it's standard medical practice that's been done for years to help against many wounds."

"Are you okay honey?" Rita inquired worried to the core about her son's injuries.

"Fine mom, just taking it slow."

"Thank goodness, we were really worried about you." Lori was up first.

"That was a major hit you too bro." Luna added.

"So how was it like being dissected as oppose to frogs?"Lola jabbed Lana shoulder as she didn't like that question. "What, I was just asking?"

"They are not the same Lana."

"Well Lincoln, you must be having a real bedside manner, get it?" Luan told a joke, only meet with everyone's groan.

Angered, the athlete grabbed Luan by the shirt and shot back, "Seriously, you have the nerve to crack a joke at a time like this!"

"Lynn," Rita called out trying to calm her down.

Lily crawled out of Rita's arms into Lincoln's lap. Like everyone else, she shared their concern even. If she was a baby and not a lesson comprehend what was really happening. While in bed, Lincoln still had the strength to hold his baby sister.

As he continued have a conversation with his family, the young athlete retreated to the corner to calm herself. Lots of thoughts went into your mind as she watched her brother in the hospital bed. Large amount of guilt and sorrow went through her mind. The more she recalled, the more horrible she felt. Lynn felt that she had deserve to be in the room. She could take anymore as she left the room, Lynn Sr noticed her as he decided to follow.

"Are you alright kiddo?"

"It's my fault." The father felt her remorse. "It's my fault this happen to Lincoln. They were after me and Lincoln got caught in the crossfire. It should have been me."

"Sweetheart, don't talk like that. You can't blame yourself." Lynn Sr placed his hand on his daughter shoulders. "Sometimes things are just unforseen, things we can comprehend nor predict."

"I should have been there."

"You were there, you were there to call the ambulance when your brother got hurt."

"If not for you, Lincoln would have died if you haven't acted the act you did. You protected my sacred treasures and I'm proud of you for that." Lynn assured her, trying to help his daughter. "Lynn, I'm pretty sure Lincoln does not blame you at all for what happen. No matter what, he's never blamed any of his siblings."

"Mr. Loud." Soon enough, two police officers made their way in the hospital.

"Yes," he answered.

"This is Detective Menkin and I'm Detective Warren. I know this may seem like a grieving time, but we need to ask your daughter a few questions on the situation so that we may catch the hoodlums who did this."

"Yeah off course but another day. My son is in the hospital right now."

"We understand Mr. Loud."

Lynn held her hand in protest. "It's fine dad."

"Are you sure?" Lynn asked.

"I don't know all the details; it was too dark to even see."

With reassuring stare, Menkin advised, "Just try your best to remember, whatever little information you got will help."

"We were walking home after my big game and next thing I know we were jumped. They were wearing mask, but I can tell that they were young like me." Lynn started to recall answering the cop's questions. "But I do remember one of them had a jersey from the team I won against when I tried to grab them, but there was no specific number."

"Thank you for the information, we'll track down these guys. Any information you have, here is my number." Warren said leaving with her partner with his notepad.

"Come on Lynn Jr, I know you're worried and so am I, but we should just let the police do their job for now."

"I'm sorry Loud Family, but your son is needed for his checkup, so I'm going to have to ask you to cut your visit short." The Nurse alerted.

"Get well soon bro." Luna said tapping his shoulder.

"Try not to die." Lucy added.

"Pulse you later, get it." Luan said with a wink and everyone groan.

"I'll await further analysis on your condition elder brother."

"Bye Lincoln." Lori and Leni said leaving the room.

When the Loud Family was on their way out, Lynn Jr could not help but look back at Lincoln. The more Lynn had stared, the more her guilty continued to eat her up inside. Lynn Sr then lead her out of the room assuring her that everything will be fine. Maybe he was right, maybe rest was just all she needed.

Late night was upon the Loud House as everyone was fast asleep peacefully. Lynn on the other hand shifted from grunts to heavy breathing. Her dream took her back to earlier as she and Lincoln was approached by their attackers. The lead attacker held a switchblade to both Lynn and Lincoln. But Lynn showed no amount of fear as she wasted no time striking. Others tried to gang up on her, but were met with her quick reflexes.

Her vast knowledge as a sports junkie knew no limitations as she defended her herself from the bullies. Unfortunately as they were down, so was Lincoln. She watched helplessly as Lincoln lied on the ground, barely breathing and blood all over his shirt. When she rushed to him, he was no longer breathing and his heart had already given up. This left the jock screaming in agony in the end as he only brother had departed from his world.

"Something wrong?" Lucy asked as she creped up on Lynn, sending further shivers down her spine.

Lynn wiped the sweat off her face as she replied with, "Nothing, just a bad dream."

Lucy was not buying it as she stared at Lynn's back, walking out of the room. "My dark heart dreads for Lincoln as well." Lucy reminded as Lynn left the room.

After taking a sip of water, Lynn went to the garage. She faced off with her punching bag. She put on her boxing gloves and started jabbing as hard as she could. From each punch, she saw the mask boy's face. She envisioned her face standing right in front of her face. Each glance only made her fill up with anger and rage. After the final jab, the bag was dented. With a hand on her bag, she took many breathes worn out from her training.

"Never again." She panted, wiping the sweat off her face. Lucy was the only one to see the distress look on her face as she spied silently and took a loud sign.


	2. Shakened

"Lynn watch out!" Lincoln called out before he was stabbed, thus saving his sister. Nothing but shock and agony surrounded Lynn's face as Lincoln lied there on the street unconscious.

Even after a peaceful night sleep, the young jock still could not take her mind off of what happened the other night. Redness still surrounded her eyes. The more she thought about it, the more the image played in her head like hitting the rewind button. In the morning, she cleaned her face with as much water as she could. She did not feel like her usual energetic self as she was in the morning.

When she opened the mirror she went to get some mouthwash. As she closed the mirror door, she caught a glimpse of the masked attacker in her sight. Without blinking she turned and grabbed her foe, pinning him to the wall, only to reveal Lucy. Lucy stood unfazed by this.

"I sense a bit of hostility inside of you." Lucy pointed out.

Lynn let go of the Goth girl and stepped out of the bathroom, "Sorry Lucy but I'm fine." She didn't show it, but she was still a bit traumatized from yesterday, no matter how much she tried to shake it.

When she was proceeding down the stairs, she heard bickering among the twins room. She became curious as she checked it out. Knowing the twins fight more than anyone, it's amazing that they don't have their own army. As usual, Lana and Lola were fighting over possessions again. This was very typical of them as Lynn took a sign and stepped in.

This was usually Lincoln's territory, but she decided to step in since he was not here.

"What's wrong you two?" Lynn asked.

"Lana won't let me use the crayons so I can keep working on my card for Lincoln." Lola told Lynn.

"Yeah, well I need to work on a project as well." Lana argued back.

Lola exclaimed, "Knowing you, you'd probably just eat them like you ate paste."

Lana shot back, "Hey, paste can be good sometime."

Lynn rushed back to her room and got an extra pair, "Here, I had these crayons since I was little, so knock yourself out."

"Thanks sis." This had seize the twins fighting.

Lynn soon caught sight of the rocker and the comedian in their room. Luna pondered lyric by lyric of song to sing. While Luan on the other hand tried to come up with new material. No doubt the two of them were very much concerned about Lincoln sake as much as she was. So both of them were determined to make their little brother happy.

"Bro please get better as I write you this letter…" Luna demonstrated her song. "Nah, that's not good." She said to herself as she crumbled her piece of paper.

"What do you think of this?" Luan asked. "Pull yourself together Lincoln, don't be in vain, get it?"

Luna took a groan, "Really dude?"

"Lincoln is truly going to like this 'Get Well' card I made." Leni had presented. "I just hope it makes him well."

"Leni, that's mom and dad old anniversary card." Lori corrected her dim sister.

"Oh, no wonder why it looked so familiar."

"Preparing for another nuclear invention Lisa?" Lynn asked the resident genius.

"Negative, I'm preparing a possible medicine to help Lincoln get back on his feet. Of course it's in the experimental stage of development." Lisa had avowed.

"No offends Lisa, but I don't think Lincoln needs untested experiments right now."

Lisa declared as she continued to think, "Your right, I need to add more vile and perhaps more herbs."

Lynn shook her head in disbelief. She was the first to head out the door. "Hey Lynn, we're going visit Lincoln again, you coming? Leni asked.

Still slackened and not facing the others, Lynn replied with, "I will later Leni, right now I got practice today after school."

"Um okay whatever you say."

* * *

The next day, Lincoln continued to lie in the hospital bed, still recovering after surgery, flipping through channels. It seem like hospital left was not all that bad. On the bright side about being in the hospital was being able to miss school for a couple of days. Another bright point was having TV time to himself rather than fighting over the TV with his siblings. There he was able to catch up on the latest episode of ARGGH! And since hospital channels were limited he was very fortunate enough to find one.

It was just him, the bed, his meal and the TV throughout the day. But it did not mean he would get lonely without his chaotic siblings, something he was used to by now. When the episode had ended, a knock came on his door. He shouted come in.

"Hey Lincoln." Lincoln best friend and his two dads greeted him.

"Hey Clyde," Lincoln greeted back.

"Your sisters told me what happened no wonder why I didn't see you at school the other day, are you alright buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I can only imagine how painful it must have been." Clyde reached into his backpack. "By the way, I stopped by your house and picked up your Ace Savvy comics, figured you'd be bored at the hospital by yourself."

"Thanks Clyde, but it really isn't that bad."

"I'm glad to see you're taking it well; I wish I could say the same for your sister Lynn."

"What do you mean?"

"I said hi to her this morning, and she just ignored and pushed me like I did something wrong."

"Give her some space, she's probably taking it more personally than anybody else."

"I don't blame you man, it's got to be hard for her knowing that she failed to protect you."

Lincoln shook his head. "Look, I don't hold anything against her, accidents happen."

"I don't know Lincoln, I think she feels more responsible then anyone else."

After a few knocks, the loud sisters (minus Lynn Jr.) burst in Lincoln's room in typical loud fashion, visiting him for the second down. Meddling as they may have been, he was always glad to see his caring sisters. Once again, Clyde was a standstill over the sight of the older sister. Brain and body went on overload as he fainted over the sight of Lori. The nurse came in and noticed the fainted boy.

"Is he…?" The nurse inquired.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine, and no there is nothing wrong with him." Lincoln assured the nurse. "Hey guys, where is mom and dad?"

Lori answered, "They're at work right now, so we came to visit in their place."

Lana hopped on Lincoln's bed and pulled out a meal from her front pocket. Lola did the same as she present Lincoln was a card she made. "Hey Lincoln, I managed to smuggled your favorite sandwich in the hospital for you."

Lincoln smiled as he accepted the gifts, "Thanks Lana. And the card is really lovely Lola."

"Well, you'd expect anything less from a pageant queen?" Lola clipped.

Leni handed Lincoln a sack lunch, "I also made you something as well Lincoln. I know you must be finished."

Lisa corrected her older sister, "That's famished Leni."

Luna then stepped in with her walkman, "Here some tunes for you bro, so you won't be bored here. You can use it until you're released."

"Thanks a lot Luna."

"How are you Lincoln?" Lucy crept on the boy, causing him to shriek.

"I'm great Lucy." Lincoln said.

"I'm conducting a practice funeral, do you think one of these patients would let me."

"Not according to hospital regulations Lucy."

"Sigh." Lucy said loudly.

When another patient made it into the room, all bandaged up, Luan asked. "So what happened to him?"

"He suffered a bear attack." The nurse answered.

"Well I guess that must have been an 'unbearable' situation, get it?" Luan joked with a wink. Neither the nurse or the patient, nor the sisters was amused by her bland humor. "What, too soon?"

Lincoln then noticed the doctor's coat and red nose on his sister, "Luan, why are you dressed like that?"

"Because Dr. Smiles is here to lighten up the mood. Research had shown that laughter is the best medicine, and who'd best to give it then yours truly."

"Inaccurate study and inaccurate situation from a foolish media, Further research has proven that giggles within the body organs does not help fight varies diseases or broken bones, so forth." Lisa pulled out some papers in her tiny backpack. "Putting my explanation aside, Mrs. Johnson told me to deliver you your daily homework and she even expresses her grave worry on your well being."

"Thanks Lisa, looks like I'll be busy while I'm here." Lincoln grimaced looking at the packet of papers.

Lincoln looked around to find one Loud short, so he decided to ask. "Hey where is Lynn?"

"She said she had practice and she would visit you later." Leni recalled. Somehow

Lincoln had his doubts with the behavior she had shown lately. "Well, I just hope she's alright."

* * *

"Sorry Loud, practice has been canceled for the rest of the week." The couch had informed Lynn.

"Why is that?" Lynn inquired as if she bothered to ask. "The finals are a week from now."

"Because of what happened last night, not mention orders from the police until this matter is fully investigated. And parents are even starting to get cautions."

"I'm fine couch; I can handle myself, besides they weren't the ones attacked."

"I know you can, but we're just being safe. You never know when those attackers are going to strike next."

Disappointed over the cancel of practice, she decided to do some investigating of her own. She hoped to find the people who did this before the cops did; otherwise, they would just deny everything. She started to the point at where it first happened. From the empty field, she retraced the steps of the opposite team. And from what was said from her couch, the team was still in town and has not left yet. They were practicing for the next big game.

One way or another, she intended to confront them as she held her wooden bat. And what would happen will be up to her. Her couch told her what field they were practicing in after she had told him that she was going to give them her condolences. At the park, she watched the other team practice freely, looking for the right guy as she gripped her bat.

Her muscles tense as she tried to hold herself back as much as possible. From the team of players, it could have been anyone. With the investigation going on, she could not afford to be reckless. And it's not like she was going to read their voices one by one. She then discovered police leaving the field.

From that signs, it only meant the investigation was unsuccessful, but not done. As soon as the practice was concluded from the opposite team, players went their own separate ways. She was not going to get anywhere by questioning them all, so she tried a different approach.

Spotting one of the players showing off for a girl, she crept up from behind. She gave a mean snarl which scared and a scowl the girl off. Before he could react, he grabbed the guy and pinned him to the wall. Face to face, he met with Lynn mean scowl. But he was able to recognize the Squirrel's star player.

"Perhaps, you've heard about last night on me and my brother, little guy and white hair, ring any bells?" Lynn exasperated the guy.

The guy was shaken in her boots, "Yeah I have heard of it and him…" He paused. "I'm sorry for what happened to your brother."

Lynn grip grew tighter on the guy, "I don't need your sympathy nor pity party, just answers."

"Look I understand how frustrated you must be feeling, but whatever happened that night, I swear I had nothing to do with it. Most of us tend to get really competitive, but not enough to sabotage someone." He squeaked fearing Lynn.

"Tell that to the boy in the hospital who could have died because one of your teammates was carrying a deadly weapon!"

"Please try to calm down; I'm just as horrified by this outcome as much as you are. And if I knew, I would most definitely tell you, but I don't. I'm just a rookie here. I haven't been on the team that long."

Lynn took a deep breathe to calm down as she released the guy. The guy certainly didn't have the motivation to commit such a crime. "You're lucky I believe you, and I'm sorry."

He brushed himself off and unwrinkled his shirt. "It's alright, and don't worry I won't tell anybody about this assault. Unlike the others, I'm a tough but fair player. My little brother is a fan of yours even if he comes to my games to support me, and since that attack that happened, I told him not to come to my game because of it. Believe me; I understand what you're going through. I want to help you resolve this too."

Lynn continued to turn her back on the other player. "Yeah, whoever did this they better hope that I don't find him before the police does." Lynn said walking away, cracking her knuckles.

 _ **More to come on the way**_


	3. The Hunt begins

After sleeping through most of her studies of Royal Woods Junior High School, Lynn was determined to set out again, even while school was still in session. As she tossed her tennis ball over and over again, she started to ponder a lot of things, the new guy, the mask assailants, and most importantly the condition of her brother. She lied under the tree, alone and away from everyone.

Lynn's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a coin tossed her way. With her fast reflexes, she caught it. Then in front of her appeared, her jokester sister. "Hey Lynn, can I offer a penny for your thoughts, get it?" Luan cackled and Lynn rolled her eyes at that lame pun. Luan took a seat next to her sister.

"Not in the mode Luan." Lynn said, slightly annoyed.

"Oh I just thought that I could brighten up your day." Luan cracked another unfunny joke.

Lynn scoffed, "Ugh, give me a break. Look, I don't want to talk about it Luan."

"Jokes aside, you're worried about Lincoln aren't you?" She was right on the mark, so there was no way Lynn could possibly deny it. Lynn didn't respond. Luan did speak reasonably while she was not too busy trying to make humor out of everything. "Come on, you should not that it wasn't your fault, it just happened…"

Lynn rose up and shouted at her sister, "Just what…happened randomly, what do you know, you weren't even there? I could have prevented it!"

It was without a doubt that Lynn was still upset. But for once, the joker didn't have a combat line. Lynn's annoyance measured up to frustration as she faced Luan. When Luan tried to call out to her, Lynn immediately left her and school grounds. Where she was going was up for debate at the moment.

"Lynn! You should try to at least visit Lincoln in the hospital. He can use a friendly face right now." Luan called out again. Lynn didn't answer as she walked away.

"Right now, he is the least of my concern."

After her falling with her sister, Lynn retreated away. She didn't know where, she just wanted to get away from her sibling. The last thing she ever needed at the moment was sympathy. Walking home by herself, her ear caught a sound. The second she heard a rustle in the park bushes, she gripped her bat in her sports bag. As she held it tightly, already she was assuming the worst.

She proceeded to walk towards her path, pretending that she didn't notice a thing. With the tip of her fingers, she was waiting for the foe to come out, but didn't want to make it look too obvious. When the sounds drew closer, she started to slow down. Then out of the bushes emerged the same guy, she integrated. Without a moment of hesitation, she foot sweep the guy and held the bat to his neck while pinned down.

"Alright fess up scumbag, why are you following me? I have the right mind to kick your butt because of this!?" Lynn exclaimed.

"Take it easy, I want to help you." He answered muttering under the bat.

Lynn raised an eyebrow as she loosen her grip, letting him talk clearly. "What are you talking about?"

"Listen to me; I want to help you find the people who did this." He said. Lynn got off of him as she let him talk, but her guard was not completely down as she still held her bat to the guy.

"Five minutes, and counting." Lynn stated, trying to calm down. From her glance, he didn't look that bad. He was a dark skinned, fade cut boy, and didn't look like someone to do any wrong, let alone attack and threaten someone. He was a few inches taller than Lynn and maybe a year older. "How do I know you're not the same exact person who attacked me and my brother?"

"Then search me if you have to, but I'm not the one." He replied, offering himself like a guy being frisk searched. "The name is Brandon Winchester." He introduced himself with a handshake in his soft-spoken voice.

Lynn still was not convinced if not confused, but accepted his handshake nonetheless. "Lynn Loud Jr."

"Look, I know what you must be feeling right now. Even our games have been pushed back due to the investigation going on, and even I was questioned by the police. I want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do. Our teams should not have to suffer because of this."

"Our teams…" Lynn inquired looking at the Brandon with disbelief.

"Okay my team, but I promise you not all of us are like that. I don't like cheaters, especially the sore losers of that kind. I know that from experience."

Finally Lynn lowered her bat, "So Brandon, do you know any of your teammates who would do such a thing?"

"Sorry No, I don't know all of them too well, just a couple. It seems unlikely they would be dumb enough to repeat the same mistake twice with the investigation going on. But I want to help you, not just for our teams, but your brother sake. Is he alright?"

"He is fine. And I don't need your help." Lynn noticed that the sun was nearly down, so she decided to cut the conversation short. "Aside from that why would I believe someone from the opposite team wants to help me?"

"I have my reasons."

"Right, look it was nice meeting you Brandon, but I got to go before my parents get worried."

"You're not a very good liar because it's still early through the day." Brandon pointed out, trying to catch up to Lynn.

"Stop following me." Lynn demanded.

"I'm not following; I'm actually heading the same way." Brandon said. "Come on, let me help you catch these guys, it will be a lot better than beating up them one by one blindly." He tried to convince. "Come on, what do you have to lose?"

Lynn gave him a dirty look.

"Okay, poor choice of words. Look, just think of me as you're inside guy."

Lynn took a calm sigh, "Alright then, but so help me if I find out you're the guy who was behind it all along, then you better hope that there is a safe place in Royal Woods for you to hide because I will destroy you." Lynn threaten pointing at the guy's chest.

"So how about we meet tomorrow at the park?" He asked.

The jock didn't respond as she walked away from the guy she just met. Lynn didn't know what to make of this situation, especially for a guy she just met or assaulted at first. She also had to keep the boy to herself since her siblings would make a big deal over a possible boyfriend. Plus, she was more focused on other things right now and didn't have time to worry about a crush, even if the guy seem to be charming and humble.

When she made it home late evening, the Loud sisters were in the den doing their usual thing. They chilled happily and loudly without a worry. From their happy faces, neither of them had Lincoln on their mind. Lana constructed more of her mud piles. Lori texted Bobby on her phone. Lisa worked on more of her invention and calculations. Leni knitted a dress. Luna boomed to her rock music. Lucy focused on her dark poems. Lola continued to admire her young beauty.

Lynn proceeded upstairs until she was called. "Hey Lynn, we missed you at the hospital earlier. You know Linky was asking about you."

"Sorry guys, but practice ran late. I visit him again tomorrow, I promise." Lynn replied, not as energetic as her siblings right now. The sisters didn't know if Lynn was being distance or still blaming herself. So they resisted the urge to ask. Lily was the only one to approach, but the jock turned the infant to the other direction and said, "Not now Lily."

When in her room, she accessed her computer. On the search tab, she looked on the team the Chicago Pirates. Not only were they pretty fierce, but they were also unbeatable among some, perhaps a decade or two. Many teams might have come close, but never had claim victory until the Royal Woods Squirrels came in. The athlete had to feel very lucky that her team was able to win. But it still didn't change the fact that one of teammates had just committed a crime. From the assault, it seem like they were so spoiled by their victories that they intended to keep it that way, even if it meant hurting someone.

Much as Lynn didn't like to lose, she would never try to keep her victories spotless. Well at least, she got a clue on what the team really is. Yet as Brandon had confirmed, not all the team members were determined to keep their win streak. As she glanced at her photo of her and Lincoln at a ball game, she set it down.

"I'll come see you Lincoln, but just not right now." She said to herself.

* * *

Coming back to school was not easy without a note or excuse since she ditched. It was considered to be resolved thanks to Lisa's invention of imitating their parent's voices, so it would avoid too much trouble. But it didn't stop her from serving detention. Telling her siblings to head home without her, neither of them questioned her motives as they went on.

Around the school parking lot, Brandon stood there with his bicycle. Lynn got her bike as she traveled with him as soon as greetings were out of the way. The two of them rode their bikes together.

"Thanks for coming." He said.

"What do you have?" Lynn inquired.

"Well as far as my team goes, I've narrowed the list of suspects between the ones who are really aggressive, and the ones who are really competitive. Most of them have already been questioned, but one if not some of them is a liar. And lying to the police can have dire consequences."

"Yeah, well it's not like we can just ask them to all empty out their pockets and backpacks."

"Off course not, that is way I narrowed the list. First we have the competitive ones consist of Daniel, Max, and Ivan. Since I've been with them, they were always very tough but fair. Max was always the more cunning one, meaning that when it came to the game, he was always five moves ahead. Ivan was known of a having really mean throw arm, so he could toss a ball very fast before the batter could even react." Brandon explained.

"What about the last guy?"

"Daniel had a Juvenile conviction of tagging with graffiti and has been clean ever since.

"Now getting to the aggressive types at least the ones I know, Malcolm, Jared, Ned, and Fletcher. These are players that are twice as competitive. Maybe on your level of being an athletic junkie, no offense."

Lynn chuckled a bit over that remark, "Some taken."

As Brandon took Lynn to the field, the two of them went for a rest stop. Brandon went to put air in his bike tires, while Lynn was so quick to rush to the restroom. He spent a couple of minutes waiting for the young athlete out of the restroom. It gave her great sigh of relief that everything was out.

"Seriously, I don't know why you had to drink that whole gallon of strawberry soda." Brandon wondered.

"So sue me, I needed the energy." Lynn said back.

On their way towards another path, Brandon spotted one of his teammates at an alley. One of the teammates held a large bag, when dropped it revealed a sharp object. The glance of the object was the only thing to make Lynn react to the boy as she rushed over. Brandon tried to run after her.

Lynn pinned the guy to the wall same as Brandon. "So did you think you could get away with this?" Lynn accused angrily to the confused player. He barely had any words to say about this attack.

"Lynn calm down, you misunderstand." Brandon tried to stop her, but she shoved him back.

Lynn continued to badger the guy, "So what's to stop me from hurting you the same way you hurt my brother?"

"Lynn, look again." Brandon reminded. The athlete looked to reveal the item was not a knife, it was a scrapper. And because of that, she let go of the guy. "What I was trying to tell you is that even if Daniel did commit a crime just not yours, he was scheduled to do his after school community service today."

"Oh…" Now Lynn was embarrassed, but not as the innocent that she attacked.

"Sorry about that Daniel, my friend here is just heavy on edge; just forget any of this ever happened." Brandon simpered, leading Lynn away.

"Yeah, well you should consider putting that beast on a leash." Daniel gibed at the jock.

Lynn chided as Brandon held her back, "What was that?" Together the two of them walked away. When they were out of sight, Brandon gave Lynn a stern look and said, "Look I understand you're under pressure, but this isn't the way to do this. You need to be more careful Lynn. You can't just beat up any random person with the team jersey." He lectured to her, much to her disapproval.

"Fine, what do you suggest?"

"We take it slow, one way or the other they are bound to be careless. So we got to make sure we catch them in the act."

When she was about to follow, she received a text from one of her siblings. Luna had sent the text. It was an update on Lincoln's condition. No exact details were given. From the sad emoji face, it sounded urgent. Reluctant at first, she had to check and see what it was. So for now, her pursuit was off.

"Sorry Brandon, but I got to go, it's a family emergency." As she rushed to the hospital, she could only fear the worst at this point, she only hope it was not the last.


	4. Unfortunate Turn

"Thank you for coming Mr. and Mrs. Loud." Dr. Oharris said as the Loud family stood in the hospital.

"So what seems to be the trouble?" Lynn Sr. asked before everyone.

"Well, it is this." The doctor presented the paper showing off an X-Ray of Lincoln's body. Lincoln's upper body was fine, but the lower body was another story. The hip on his lower body was cracked on the side, but not shattered. This put the whole family in shock, let alone horrifying. "You see, when your son that was attacked, the knife had managed to pierce deep in his right medial iliac and supracetabular that was heavily injured and nearly touched a portion of his spine. Therefore, it had limited his movements."

Rita gasped as she asked, "So you're saying?"

"In other words elder brother will be unable to walk freely under his condition, due to the damaged on his pelvis bone." Lisa translated.

The doctor nodded at the family, "I'm afraid so little one, your son is going to be in a wheelchair for a while even when he gets out of the hospital. At the very least, it will take a month or two for him to fully heal and get back on his feet."

The Loud family looked at Lincoln with sadness, Lincoln caught the look as he smiled and said, "Come on guys, I'm feeling fine." He tried to lift himself on his own two feet, only to try to prove the doctor's thesis wrong, he felt a great amount of pain upon his hip. It was like something had snapped inside of him. "Ow, Charlie horse!" He collapsed down.

The doctor helped the white haired boy on the wheelchair. "I'm sorry Lincoln, but you're going to be in a wheelchair until you're all healed up." "But I assure you that this is not for life."

"Hey look at the bright side Lincoln, at least you finally have your own set of wheels." Luan joked trying to cheer up the boy with a smile.

The family could not help but look sad to see how this situation quickly had escalated with Lincoln. Still, it was not all bad as they thought on this endeavor. Lynn could not bear the sight of it as she stormed out of the room. Lots of things boiled into her mind at the moment. It was one thing that Lincoln was hurt, but another that he was not able to move freely now that she knew how bad the stab was.

Anger and guilt sizzled inside of her as she squeezed the plastic water cup, spilling all over her hands. She suffered sports injuries this before, but never this bad that it would make her crippled. Inside the waiting room, she sat quietly to herself. Darkening her shadow, Lynn Sr. came in see her how his daughter was doing.

"Sweetie, do you want to talk about it?" Lynn Sr. was the first inquire.

Lynn shook her head silently. He sat down beside her. She tossed her cup of water and shouted, "It's just not fair, damn it! They were aiming for me and yet he got caught up in all this? Why did this have to happen?"

"Lynn, calm down."

"And why haven't the police caught those idiots yet?" Lynn continued as she slammed her fist on the wall.

"Lynn Jr, look I'm angry and frustrated too, but you're not the only one you know. Your mother and I are just as affected as you are. Your mother could not stop crying over your brother getting hurt badly like this. You just have to hold it together."

Lynn Jr stood up from her seat and tilted her eyes the other direction. Even from her silence, Lynn Sr. could still feel the anger and regret inside of her. She walked away. "I don't know if I can."

"Lynn, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get some air, I'll meet you back at home."

"Don't you want to say goodbye to Lincoln first?"

"See you later," Lynn said with remorse in her voice.

The father of the Loud children entered back into the hospital room as the mother noticed him coming in. "Hey honey, where is Lynn?"

"She said, she'll meet us back at home."

"Ugh, what is her deal lately?" Lola asked. "Lincoln is hurt and she's being so weird lately?"

"Yeah, is she sick or something?" Leni asked.

"Chill out dudette, she's just probably having a hard time accepting this." Luna said trying to cheer up her little sister.

Lori folded her arms and replied, "Maybe, but she has not been visiting Lincoln lately."

* * *

Saturday morning Lynn spent her morning on the batting cages. With every baseball, she gave a hard swing hitting the cages as hard as she could. While not at home, she figured another way to deal with her aggression then in the cages. She image her foe as the baseball as giving every hit out there. Little kids who occupied the batting cages as well were almost afraid to even attempt the cages as well.

After the last it, the baseball stuck the Pitching Machine. Inside the shooter, the pressure was overloaded; therefore, it burst inside, thus breaking the machine. She knew he was a heavy hitter, but not that much.

As one of the owners checked the machine, Lynn gave her apology. "Don't worry about it kid, they were old anyway, can't control players as talented as yourself."

"Well so your just as dangerous in the cages as you as outside." Brandon said watching Lynn.

"What do you want Brandon?" Lynn inquired, not in the mode to talk.

The boy walked up to her, "Just seeing how you were doing, you stormed off the other day. So how is your brother?"

Lynn grabbed her bat and started to head off, Brandon followed. "Just peachy, aside from the fact that he can't walk."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, whatever, at least it's not forever." Lynn continued to dwell on her brother's fate. The boy could almost see the unease in her eyes. So he decided to do something about it.

"Hey," Brandon called throwing Lynn a baseball, and quickly she caught it. "How about a game of catch? Whenever, I was feeling down, my dad would often offer to play catch with me, and he was a pro back then."

Knowing her competitive nature, she reluctantly accepted, not knowing where it was going. She tossed the ball to Brandon and he tossed back. He decided to test her reach as he threw the ball far, but it did not stop her from pursuing like a hunting dog. Reaching the twentieth strength, she leaped down, crashing into the dirt and caught the ball with her hands. She had to feel mighty lucky pushing her sports limits to the next level.

So she decided to test him as well. With a deep breathe and swing of the arm, she tossed the ball very far. The ball flew across the field and into the parking lot. At any moment, the baseball was ready to break a car window until Brandon had caught the ball, landing on the car itself. So he ended up tossing a curve ball to the young athlete.

"Not bad for a rookie," Lynn hated to admit it, but she was impressed with his skills. And from the perfect handle, he was not that much of a rookie then he lets on.

"You're not slouch yourself, been practicing when I was young." Brandon caught the ball tossed by Lynn.

"Yeah, well so have I."

"No matter why your team beat mind, you certainly got the dedication and the ambition."

Lynn pounded her fist into her baseball mitt. "Flattery will not make me go easy on you."

"I'd be insulted if you didn't."

As the two exchanged throws and dialogues, Lynn continued to keep her defenses up, since she was still on the hunt. Yet she was not fully convinced that he was being a nice person. One way or the other, she thought he had to have an ulterior motive. So she was not fully convinced, cause it was innocent until proven guilty at this point.

The fake smiles on her face as she was having a nice time was only a ruse. Even with the investigation, she knew the real assailant was still or there or could have been in front of her. When the African American teenager caught the ball, they were suddenly disturbed by teasing.

"Hey Brandon, you still trying to chase after your sellout of a father?" One of the boys started to tease. "Better be careful or you may end up just like him."

"Yeah, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Another guy added.

"Yeah, or more like a rotten apple." The third guy added joking around, causing laughter among the other guys.

This caught Lynn's attention, but Brandon held her back. One insult after another, he was not at all phase. "Just ignore them Lynn."

"Be sure not to go down the Hall of Shame." The guys continued to poke and make fun of.

Brandon grabbed Lynn by the hand and left. "Come one Lynn; let's go somewhere that doesn't attract unwanted attention."

"What was that about?" Lynn could not resist to ask.

"Nothing, they are just jerks who feel they can say whatever they want to." He shot back, holding back as much anger as he had. But Lynn didn't believe it one bit, yet she was not going to force him. "How about we stop at Burp-IN-Burger, my treat?" He offered.

* * *

While still in the hospital, Lincoln tried to make the best of his condition. He had to deal with the fact that his pelvis was heavily injured. Despite his legs working fine, he didn't have his strong pelvis to support it. It was like a chair without a leg. While fighting for recovery, now he had to fight Boredom. Boredom came into his mind as his homework was done, all of his Ace Savvy comes were read, and his handheld game was beaten.

Peace and quiet was nice for him for a while, but after a certain amount of time he almost wished for something more active. He could still remember how much his mom harped on him about not doing some exercise. And since he was cooped up in bed, exercise was very limited. He rolled out of bed into his wheelchair.

Before he could set off, a couple of knocks came at his door. "Come in, it's open." He instructed. Opening the door, Lori and her Hispanic boyfriend made his appearance.

"Oh Lincoln, guess who came here to visit you." Lori effused.

"What's up little loud?" Bobby greeted with a fist bump.

"Hey Bobby, so I guess Lori told you what happened to me?" Lincoln asked.

"Nah little bro, mom just happened to work at the same hospital you were admitted to. I didn't find out till after my weekend shift in the mall, so I thought I'd come by to show my support as well."

"So just Babe and Bobby Boo-Boo-Bear came to see me," Lincoln didn't need the answer sheet for this one.

"Nope, someone else did." Lori answered as Bobby's Hispanic sister stepped forward.

"Hey Lame-O." Ronnie Anne chirped.

"Ronnie Anne, what are you doing here?"

"I also heard about what happened, so how are you feeling?"

"I'm getting by, despite my condition." He replied, noticing her was in a wheelchair. Even Ronnie Anne figured out negative signs in his wheelchair. But by the looks on his face, he was not at all broken about it. He kept his optimism in check for everyone to see.

"Come on Lame-O, why don't we get some fresh air, I know you must be cooped up here all day?" Ronnie Anne then went behind and started pushing him in his wheelchair. To Lincoln it was the best words since all day because he was bored out of his mind at the moment.

It feels like forever, since Lincoln felt the sunlight in his face, let alone inhale the outside air. He could hear the birds chirping and the leaves rustling. It was a good thing his former bully had came; otherwise, he'd being lying in his bed in further boredom. Ronnie Anne tossed a Lincoln a cold grape soda. Like his sisters, she also smuggled something in the hospital. As she got her own grape soda, she took a seat on the bench by Lincoln.

There was silence between them at first, but then Ronnie Anne decided to start the conversation. "So how long did they say you would be like this, in a wheelchair?"

"A month in the latest, maybe even longer, according to the doctor, wounds are one thing, broken bones however are another. Looks like I'm just going to have to make use of being in a wheelchair even when I get out."

"I see,"

"So when did you find out what happened to me?"

"Bobby came home ranting on and on about Lori and their fifth month anniversary or is it eight, I lost count."

"Oh Bobby-Boo-Boo-Bear, we are clearly made for one another." Lincoln mocked doing an imitation of Lori, causing Ronnie Anne to laugh.

"We are literally like the beauty and beast babe." Ronnie Anne did the same with Bobby.

"Oh I would never think of you as the beast Boo-Boo-Bear." Lincoln replied, which made the two of them laugh.

Outside the hospital Lincoln and Ronnie Anne mocked and pocked fun of Lori and Bobby's relationship. Making all the imitations they can think of and all the corny names and methods for the love birds. Since the makeup date, dance and the egg incident, the two of them had become close. And as far as they seen Lori and Bobby were concerned, the two of them were anything but inseparable, even after the 'suppose' breakup.

* * *

Throughout the weekend, the two athletes from the opposite teams decided to hang out at Burp-IN-Burger. Lynn still didn't understand why the person from one of the teams she faced off with was being so nice, but she didn't pass off a free meal. She spent most of the time convincing herself that this was most definitely not a date. And is especially glad her sisters were not here. Or else any of them would already jump to their own conclusion.

"Here you go, two Bacon Double Cheeseburgers combos." Brandon got the meals.

"Thanks Brandon, I'm starving after a long day." Lynn thanked, munching on a burger.

"It's my pleasure." He smiled sipping a drink.

After the first bite, she faced him. "So Brandon…?"

"You want to know what was that all about back there, do you?" He suspected.

Lynn nodded. She figured while he was being friendly, he would have no problem telling her something.

Brandon felt this coming sooner or later, so he submitted. From his wallet, he pulled out an old photo of his father on a Baseball team. "Years ago, my dad, Travis Winchester, also played for the Royal Woods Squirrels. He was a star player, well known among a lot of his peers, and enjoyed every moment of it. His talent went so far as high school, and many colleges and universities were lining up for scholarships. One time he was offered to play in the nationals even at his young age. But then his baseball career was cut short when one of the teammates busted his leg. And the scholarship money was later withdrawn. He was unable to play baseball after that." Lynn widen her eyes as she continued to chew on her burger. "Even though I am related to someone famous or was going to be famous, people think I'm just living in his shadow, but I'm following my own path, so that is why I joined the Pirates."

"He must have been awesome." Lynn admired the picture.

"Yeah even I looked up to him, maybe perhaps I can show you his old videos."

"Sweet, I liked that." Lynn exclaimed with excitement.

"I was not the most well-coordinated back then, so people never choose me to be a part of their team. But I practiced and got good. Don't tell anybody about this."

"My lips are sealed." Lynn checked her phone. It was text from her sister asking where she was, yet she didn't answer.

"Lynn perhaps, it's not my place to say this. But I think you should visit your brother." He said, noticing Lynn's hangups.

That was probably the last thing she wanted to talk about. Just bringing it up, made her feel queasy inside, and not because of the meal. "Why bother, he probably hates me by now for letting this happen?"

He placed his hand on her shoulder, "I don't know him too well, but I'm sure he can use a friendly face right now. At least to tell him that you're not avoiding him. I'll even go with you to the hospital."

Lynn then nodded her head agreement.

* * *

Back in the hospital, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne continued their time together. After spending time outdoors, the two went back inside for some television. It may have not been the most romantic part of a date, but the two had enjoyed each other's company, nevertheless. It only made it better that Bobby or Lori was not trying to push their relationship.

"Ronaldo, it's time to go, Lincoln needs his rest after a long date." Nurse Santiago called out to her youngest daughter. A bit disappointed that the day was over, she obeyed.

"Try not to die. See you later Lame-O." Ronnie Anne gave Lincoln a goodbye jab and left. Lincoln waved back.

As Ronnie Anne took her exit, Lynn stood by the door. Lincoln saw her as it brought a smile to her face. She watched as Lincoln was back in bed, now getting use to not moving as freely as others.

"Hey Lynn, haven't seen you around much lately."

Lynn walked in the room. "Well, I've been busy." Lynn stared at the ground. "I still can't get over it Lincoln."

"You mean the fact that I got hurt, the fact I'm handicapped now, or the fact that your fine and dandy?"

"All the above." Lynn took a seat by Lincoln as she still could not face him. "I should have been able to do more. This never would have happen if it wasn't for me."

"Lynn, you know as well as I that is not true."

"Yeah well even till this day, the more I think about it, the more furious I get. Don't you see Lincoln; this is much more than just a simple bully attack, that's why I've been heavy on edge lately!"

Lincoln shook his head, "So, you think I'm not angry about this, being in a hospital and in a wheelchair?" Lynn folded her arms. "But I try to make the best of it, and I know you will to."

"Maybe for you, but you're the one whose actually in there!" Lynn fired back with anger. "Now I just want to make those guys suffer like they made you suffer."

"Lynn, look at me. I know you're hurt and scared and you have the right to be. But there are something's that even beyond our control. The world isn't perfect, you know."

She argued back, "Come on Lincoln, I thought you of all people would understand that this situation needs closure, what can't you understand?"

"Because what you're getting at is not closure Lynn, its revenge." Lincoln shot back.

"Then maybe that is just what they need, you can't forget about the fact that they hurt you or did you quote that from your dumb Ace Savvy comic books?"

"Lynn, this isn't you, you're just letting those guys get to you."

Lynn calm down a bit. "Look, I didn't come here for lecture, I just came to see how you were, nothing more. One way or the other, they have to pay for what they done."

"Lynn." Lincoln called out stopping her.

"You going to try and stop me." The jock faced her brother, daring him to make a move even if it was little.

"No; but I am hoping you could stop yourself. But ask yourself this; in the end, will you be as satisfied as they are?"

Lynn's rage had shown as she knocked over Lincoln's food tray on the ground. Even if he wanted to, he could not stop her. Still, she didn't respond as she left the hospital room with one objective in mind, nor did she ignore Lincoln's question entirely.


	5. Coping with the lost

As Lynn ran out of the hospital, she bumped into and passed Brandon. After taking her to the hospital to see Lincoln, he waited for her. However, he could already see the signs as she didn't answer him while she bumped into him. He'd worry about Lynn later; right now he went to go see Lincoln for himself.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I come in?" He asked, peeking through the door.

"Do I know you?" Lincoln inquired with confusion.

"No; my name is Brandon, and I'm one of the guy's from the opposite team that your sister faced off with. Your sister and I met days ago." He offered Lincoln a handshake. He seem nice so Lincoln accepted his gesture. He set some flowers down beside him. "I'm sorry for what happen to you, believe me, I was just as horrified as your sister."

"Will she be okay?" Lincoln wondered looking back at her.

Brandon took a sigh. "I hope so dude, she's let this whole attack on you get out of hand. But all we can do is just hope she will work this out for herself, no matter how stubborn she is."

Lincoln agreed, "Yeah Lynn can be pretty reckless at times."

"Either way, I must cut my visit short. I just wanted to see how your recovery. And in a way, I do feel partially responsible for what happen to you since it was from my team." Brandon waved to Lincoln.

"Like I told Lynn before, this isn't your fault, nor do I blame you in any way."

Brandon smiled as he left. "I hope you get better soon."

* * *

At home Lynn focused her time on her punching bag. Armed with her boxing gloves, she pounded away at the huge sack. With every punch, she envisioned the face of her foe even if he was still unseen. She could only image how her attacker would look like, especially since there was zero leads and evidence to go on.

She could only remember the words of the attacker. "We had a lot riding on the game and you ruined it, so we're going to take it out on you." the voiced echoed inside of her head.

As she heard the voice, she took the final jab, causing the bag to be knocked back. "You think you're so tough!" Lynn exclaimed. She stood there breathing heavily after hard training. Both anger and rage overwhelmed her well being as she still could not let go. When she turned her back, Luna was already standing behind her.

"I was going to practice my jam sessions until I heard you." Luna said.

"Well the garage is free, so knock yourself out." Lynn grabbed a towel and started to head out.

"Dude, this situation is starting to get to you."

Lynn took a chuckle, "Your almost starting to sound like Lincoln."

"I'm serious dude; the skipping school, the lack of visits to bro, being distance from your family, and lashing out unexpectedly and unnecessary. You are acting like a real bonehead. What's wrong with you dude?" Luna grabbed Lynn's shoulder, but shoved her away.

"Leave me alone!" Lynn retorted.

"This new side of you is not cool sis. I'm worried about Lincoln too, but you're really letting it get the best of you."

"Keep your advice to yourself."

"We're going to see Lincoln again today; he can really use your support."

Luna didn't bother to stop her as she made her way to the kitchen. After an intense workout, she fixed herself a nice protein shake. This aggressive nature of Lynn's caused her siblings to worry a great deal as the sisters could not take their eyes off of Lynn's bitter behavior. At this point, they were more worried about her then Lincoln.

So many thought went into their minds as Lynn walked out of the door. When she was gone, the girls talked amongst themselves.

"I think it's very clear dudes, Lynn is really losing it." Luna stated.

"I'm worried about her." Leni said.

"Me too, and it's not even funny anymore." Luan agreed.

"Yeah, she's always been reckless and impulsive before, but this is way beyond what she normally acts like." Lori added.

"Indeed, anger temperance of hers has been rising every day since the accident. I fear it may go beyond any overload." Lisa confirmed show a diagram.

"We should tell mom and dad." Lola suggested.

"No Lola, if not even Lincoln could get though to her, then maybe it would be best to let her work it out for herself. I think this is a time where our meddling is not needed."

"But what if she really goes off the deep end?" Lola asked.

"Well, let's just hope she doesn't."

* * *

While she didn't have practice today, it did not stop her ongoing pursuit. In a hooded sweatshirt, she watched from a distance of the other team practicing. From a nearby park bench and hotdog, she was on lookout. She was already looking suspicions enough being in plain sight, but it did not stop her. While the competition was still delayed due to the investigation, it did not stop the other team from keeping their strength up.

By her glance, one group were practicing normally on the field, other texted on their phone, another group sat back with a water bottle, and the final group rested on the bleachers. Among her sight, she discovered Brandon practicing with the rest of his team. Since he had practice, he could not see Lynn today as always, which may have been a relief to her. He hit the ball with pinpoint accuracy, almost identical to her skills. The sweat he displayed showed the amount of hard and dedication he had for sports. Perhaps she had the guy all wrong as she witnessed his skills.

She then noticed the group from before, still poking fun of Brandon. Even if she could not hear it, she could tell by the pointing and laughing, yet Brandon did not let it get the best of him as he ignored it. This was already enough to tighten her fist. The amount of no remorse that was displayed in this teasing made her suspicions.

Then something went arise, as Brandon made it home safe. The teasing still would not stop. Soon Brandon reached his limit as he comforted his bullies. Fearing that a fight might go on, the teammates held him back. The couch for the Pirate team was not pleased as he scolded Brandon. The conversation ended with him being sent home.

As he walked this way, Lynn hid her face inside the sweater. "You know, you already look suspicions sitting alone like that." Brandon alerted, not in a good mood.

Lynn revealed herself. "Hey Brandon, I'm guessing it did not go so well."

Brandon took a sigh. "I just don't like people comparing me to my dad, thinking I'm just a pale imitation. I'm my own person. Malcolm doesn't get that, so he seems to say whatever he wants." Brandon walked away from Lynn, much to her shock.

"Your pretty tougher then you look with you can put up with crap like that every day. I would have laid those idiots to rest if they every insult me like that."

Brandon faced Lynn, "So it did not upset you about what happen back there?"

"Nah, when I was young I defended my brother from bullies even people who insulted or even assaulted him."

"How is your brother doing?"

"He's doing fine, if not handicap now."

"Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it's not forever."

"Maybe, but it still bothers me even till this day." Lynn replied holding her head down. "Have you had any luck, finding the guy?"

"Nope, since the investigation no one talks about it without looking like a suspect, but I'm still keeping my eyes peeled. In fact, most of my teammates were just as shocked as you were."

"Really?"

"Yeah, not all of my teammates are cutthroat." Brandon had said. "Take a look at this." Brandon showed some videos on his phone. It was old videos of his father's baseball days, dated ten to twenty years ago. Together they sat on the park benches, watching the videos. They browse through video after video of Travis glory days. Throughout this experience, Lynn both observed and got pointers from his pitching and batting style.

This event even led to a couple of awes, laughter and oh's in the game. Lynn even could not believe that she was with someone who related to someone famous or could have been famous. Even though it was enough to lighten her mood, her priority was still the same. But for now, she just had to buy time.

After a few hours have passed, a black Lexus pulled up at the park. A man got out of the car, but he did not walk straight as he had limbed a couple of steps. Brandon looked up to reveal his father. Brandon noticed as he said, "Dad."

"Hey son, how did practice go?" The father greeted.

"Fine as ever." As he eyes caught Lynn, he quickly introduced. "Dad, this is Lynn Loud, the girl from the opposite team, we lost against."

Lynn was really honored as she shook the man's hand. "Awesome to meet a professional athlete like you Mr. Winchester." She almost felt like she was going to faint. It was the same reaction that any normal citizen would meet someone legendary or famous.

"I'm former professional, but yeah, you too Lynn. Now and days, I run a Deli across town, starting off as minimum wage worker then made my way to professional in that level. Now I'm an owner, even catering to parties and public events."

"Do you ever miss your days of glory?" Lynn asked.

"Off course I do, everyday, but it does not mean I still give couching advice every now and then."

"Excuse Mr. Winchester, I know you're not well known, but do you think I can have your autograph?"

"Lynn, you're drooling." Brandon noticed.

"Sure, anything for a fan." He replied, writing on her baseball.

"You'll still be a pro to me."

"Thank you, you ready to go Brandon?" Travis asked. Travis gave Lynn a business card and a coupon. "Oh and Lynn, come to our Deli sometime."

"Yeah pops, I'll see you later Lynn." Brandon left the girl.

"Come on be honest with me son." Travis whispered. "Did you already make a girlfriend?"

Brandon blushed and replied. "Come on dad, it's not like that."

"Not yet, it isn't."

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?"

* * *

As nightfall hit Royal Woods, Lynn returned up. Now that the stream was lifted, she felt the need to relax. Upon opening the door, she was quickly ambushed by her siblings. She thought she was getting an earful, but instead she got their happy expressions, and would not let their eyes off of her.

"OMG Lynn, so that's what you've been up to this entire time?" Leni said.

Lynn was confused, "What are you guys talking about?"

"We mean, why you didn't ever tell us you had a boyfriend." Lori announced.

"My friend from the beauty shop gave me the 411 on your situation." Leni boasted. "I could not believe it myself."

Knowing there was no way around it, Lynn decided to explain. "Fine, his name is Brandon Winchester, and he's a guy I met from the team I beat. Me and him are not like what you think."

"Not yet!" all the girls said in unison.

"Time for a makeover!" Leni screamed.

Lynn was afraid something like this would happen as there was no avoiding it. Now she was starting to get how Lincoln had felt as his siblings had meddled in his love life with Ronnie Anne. Personally, she thought they were making a big deal over nothing.

Knowing her tomboy nature, she didn't know how to really make of this. Just like with Lucy and Rocky, all of them wanted the best for their sister love life. She then found herself back in her room as Leni and Lola started straightening her up. Leni blow-dry and dyed her hair as Lola started working on her nails.

"Don't worry Lynn, by time we are though with you, all the boys will come crawling." Leni cheered.

"Don't be scared sis, we are professionals." Lola added, applying the finishing touches.

"Poo-Poo." Lily chirped with a happy glare.

Lynn groaned in disbelief. "Why me?"

Even if she greatly appreciated her sister's help, Lynn didn't like the large amount of makeup on her face as she washed her face. Although she didn't want to admit it to the others, she did like the pink line in her hair. And the red and black sports outfit really did suit her best with wearing a dress of any kind.

So she did admire herself in the mirror. A knock came at the door as she rushed down. To her surprise, it was Brandon at the door. He was the first to notice her new look.

"Wow, I like the hair." Brandon complimented. "And do you smell like strawberry?"

"What are you doing here Brandon?" Lynn was the first to ask.

Brandon cleared his throat and responded. "I wanted to talk to you, you got a minute?"

Lynn left out of the house with Brandon as her sisters rushed towards the window. They were dying to know the results of Lynn's makeover. Fortunately, they could not hear them though the closed door.

"I'm sorry for coming this late Lynn. But I've been doing some digging and I may have found the person who attacked you and your brother a week ago." Brandon explained.

Lynn's eyes widen. "Then tell me everything, and don't hold anything back."

 **Author's Note: "Time for a makeover" idea came from CoyoteRom of deviantArt, check out more of his awesome artwork.**

 **Also working on the next and final chapter right now, look forward to it soon. Without spoilers, I can tell you for sure that, shit is going to go down real soon.**


	6. Lynn's Rageful Fury

Outside in the dark, Lynn was all ears as Brandon had informed her about his report. After long last, her search was finally coming to an end. And from her determination, she was ready to break anything besides a machine, a wall, or a regular punching.

"Through the practice, I've been doing some digging. And I found out which one of the guys is truly responsible."

"Malcolm, the guy who teases you?" Lynn guessed.

"No, it's not him, he may have been an arrogant bully, but one thing he's not is violent. I'm talking about his friends. Jared, Ned and Fletcher. The ones who referred to me as rotten apple. I overheard them talking on how they failed on their mission to get you out of the picture. Then I clued in further, when I saw a switchblade in one of their backpacks, mainly Jared's."

"Lynn was furious, "So it was those guys all this time?"

"Yeah, but when questioned by the police, all of them denied everything. And as far as I know, the investigation is still going on. I also found out another thing. You weren't the first person to fall under their assault, there were others? It seems like they do anything they can to keep their unbeatable reputation."

Lynn cracked her knuckles in anticipation, "Then what are we waiting for?"

"They all went home by now, but we will confront them the next day."

"What do you mean we? He is mine; I still have a score to settle with him. and besides why would you want to help me after all this time?"

Brandon looked the other way. "Like I told you before, I have my reasons. But either way, meet me at the park tomorrow and we will go from there."

"You got it?" Lynn replied. As Lynn made it back inside, her siblings ambushed her with questions. This was to be expected from her Loud siblings as she met a boy. She didn't waste not time giving a straight answer, but left out many details, such as what she has planned for tomorrow. But for right now, she played it cool.

* * *

"Alright, I understand, thank you very much." Lynn Sr said getting off the phone. "Great news girls, looks like your brother's therapy is almost complete and he'll be coming out the hospital real soon. So who wants to help plan a welcome home party for him?" Lynn announced.

This announcement brought the girls in a cheering uproar. Even if it's been a week or two, it certainly felt like forever since Lincoln was not around the house. Everyone was missing Lincoln terribly. They were beyond overjoyed that Lincoln was going to come home, even if he was not able to walk freely.

"Wii-Can," Lily mumbled as Rita picked her up.

"That's right Lily, your brother is coming home." Rita had confirmed.

Lucy smiled through his stoic face, "It seems like my predictions were true."

"I'll make my pies." Lana suggested.

"For the last time Lana, there are no mud pies at a party, besides I'm going to bake a delicious cake." Lola announced.

"And I'm going to prepare the party favors." Luan said. "At his rate, he's going to need plenty of favors, ba-zing!" Luan said with her dummy, Mr. Coconuts.

Luna grabbed her guitar, "I'll be in charge of the rockin tunes dude!"

"Oh, and I'll be doing the declarations." Leni said holding box.

"Leni, those are the Christmas declarations." Lori corrected her sisters.

"So it's not a holiday?" Leni asked, leading to everyone's facepalm.

"Hey Lynn what are you planning on doing?" Lori asked, but then heard the door shut. As they looked out the window, Lynn was already rushing off somewhere with her mountain bike, leaving them wondering.

As she came to a quick stop, she reacted to a soda being tossed her way. There in the same place as yesterday, Brandon had waited for the young jock. Both snapped open the drink cans as they chugged their soda. The two of them saw how fast they could consume their caffeine. After they last drop, Brandon had burped; Lynn had done the same, but only louder. Well it was clear to see who had won that round.

Lynn smashed the can and tossed it in the trashcan. "Thanks for the soda."

Brandon had done the same. "It was my pleasure."

Luckily, the park was empty as practice was canceled for the Pirate Team. But it didn't stop a couple of the Pirate teammates from making their way through the park. Lynn took a glance at them and then Brandon. Brandon shook his head in response, confirming that he was not them, so they held off.

Another team from Brandon ventured into the park, once again Brandon denied them. Minutes turned into hours as they waited for their target. Lynn was already beginning to yawn. As the sun began to shift from the other direction, boredom was starting to overtake the both of them. No matter how much they waited, Brandon advised Lynn to be patient.

As he caught on to Lynn's snoring, Brandon started texting on his phone. When he heard snickering and laughing, he caught onto something. Three guys occupied the park, one with black hair Mohawk, other with blond and black. By the negative and rebellious attitude, he knew them.

He nudged Lynn awake, "Lynn." Lynn was wide awake as she rubbed the sand from her eyes. "That is them, recognize something?" Lynn's eyes caught sight of the switchblade and the jerseys that one of the boys had. And by the looks of it, it was most definitely the one that Lincoln was hurt from. Rage and anger filled her well- being as she found the guys. Without hesitation, she rushed over.

"So who do you think we should get next?" Jared asked his gang, holding his switchblade.

"How about no one?" Lynn interrupted the boys, holding her bat. The boys turned their attention to the young athlete as they were officially caught. Neither one of them could escape Lynn's deadly scowl.

"Seems like you caught onto us?" The Mohawk boy said holding his knife. "We only use it for defense purposes."

"That's not what I've heard. You guys hurt my brother."

"That weakling with the bleached hair. Well serves him right for getting in our way."

"Yeah, what an idiot." Fletcher and Ned replied joking as they also held bats.

Those words alone was enough to make her anger raise above the scale. "You hurt my brother and now you're going to answer to me!" Lynn decided to discard her bat to the floor as she focused on the leader armed with a pocket knife.

Jared paid her with a smirk, thinking this was going to be easy. "You must already want to be in wheelchair very soon?"

Jared went ahead against Lynn with his knife. Lynn found it easy to avoid it, thanks to herself defense training. As she grabbed his hand, she gave him a headbutt to his face. The other weren't pleased as they tried to help him, only to be stopped by Brandon. He let her continue her fight as she played defense to a deadly weapon.

By his wacky style and his lack of offense and defense, Lynn could clearly tell, he had no training of his own, just a deadly weapon. This made it easy from her to land a fury of punches. Jabs aimed at his face to his chest. It then led to a straight jump kick, causing him to lose his knife. But it did not stop him from other weapons, such as the bat on the ground.

Fortunately, Lynn had seen it coming as he grabbed the other end of the bat and aimed from his chest to his bottom half. The assailant felt immense pain between his legs. When he was down, it gave Lynn to perfect chance unleash more punches with her bare knuckles.

"You like that! You like hurting others like this!" Lynn roared.

"You'll regret this, you bitch, just you wait until..!" Jared paused as he was covered up in bruises.

"Until what Jared, we already know about you and your buddies history of sabotage." Brandon got his phone. There he replayed their conversation from before the fight. Everything was all in perfect detail. "Face it man, your done."

"Not just yet." Lynn grabbed a bat and aimed it at Jared's bruised face. "And I'm going to make you sure; you never harm anyone for the sake of your sick reputation again."

"Wait, you're not serious?" Jared begged.

"Lynn. Is this what you really want?" Brandon asked, not attempting to stop her. He glanced at the angriest expression ever shown on Lynn's face ever. Her anger was like an erupting volcano set on overload. He was almost afraid to stop himself.

Lynn held the bat up high in an attempt to strike. Jared was beyond scared as he was prepared for the worst to come. Jared's whole body was shaking in fear and so was his gang, even if they weren't under attack. Lynn was about to attack further, until she was sudden stopped by a broken piece of glass left on the ground. As Lynn glanced at her reflection, she noticed the angry person that she faced was not her at all. She didn't want to become something or someone she hated. So she had halted her attack. She took a deep breath at a time as she dropped the bat to the ground. The two of them walked away.

"You did great." Brandon complemented tapping her shoulder.

"So why would you go though the trouble for someone like me?" Lynn asked.

Brandon was almost shy enough to answer. "It's because honestly, I may have, kind of, liked you. Even if we are rivals on the baseball field, I really do enjoy hanging out with you. Do you think we can make this often?"

Lynn was flattered as she blushed and Brandon did the same. Never had she thought that a boy could ever like her athletic nature. And it was not just a small crush like Lincoln's tutor; it really did feel like a genuine connection between her and Brandon.

Lynn jabbed Brandon's shoulder, "We sure can."

"How about we visit your brother?"

"In a minute, something I have to do first."

She grabbed a phone from her pocket and made a quick call and left the boys where they were. "Hello, Royal Woods Police Department, how can I help you?"

"Hello, can I please speak to Detective Warren or Detective Menken?" Lynn answered.

* * *

In the meantime at the Royal Wood hospital, the white haired boy was still getting used to his life on the wheelchair. It took some time, but he was finally able to maneuver around getting in and out the wheelchair, such as getting in and out of bed, and even using the bathroom. Although, the bathroom part of the wheelchair had prove quite a challenged at first.

Despite his condition, he kept his ongoing optimism, not only for himself but for his family as well, even if he assured them that there was nothing to worry about. At the very least, his condition was certainly not permanent. He could not wait to get out of the hospital.

Since Ronnie Anne and Bobby's mother worked at the hospital, it gave Ronnie Anne all the time she needed to hang out with Lincoln. And Lincoln always enjoyed her company, now that they became close.

"So she said…" Lincoln paused at the sight of his sister at the door. "Ronnie Anne, can you give us a moment?"

Ronnie Anne got off the chair and said, "I'm going to get some soda, see you later Lame-O."

"How are you holding up Lincoln?" Lynn gave with coldness in her voice.

"I could ask you the same thing." Lincoln replied, noticing the beaten bruises on Lynn's hands. By the looks of it, he could already assume the worst. "Did you have a rough day?"

"You could say that. But the good news is the police caught the guys who did this to you, so you can rest easy. They are going to be going away for a real long time. Aside from that, I got grounded for skipping school."

"That's good, but what are about you?"

"What do you mean me; you're the one in a wheelchair."

"That's not what I meant Lynn. I mean how you been holding up ever since the attack, the others told me how you've been acting lately." Lincoln reminded, which got Lynn's attention. "Lynn, I don't blame you at all for me getting hurt like this."

"Well you should, I was supposed to protect you and I've failed, and look where it got you!" Lynn shot back. "I'm the worst sister ever! You must hate me right now."

"You don't really mean that."

"Yes, I do." Lynn's voice was starting to break as tears started roll down her eyes. "This is no different than the time I accused you of being bad luck, or the times I beat you up for no reason, despite your protest!"

"You can't always think you can do everything on your own you know. While it is true that I was scared and affected by this as much as you were, I was just glad you weren't hurt in the end."

"What," Lynn responded.

"You may think your being selfless, but you're not. I don't like the way I'm at right now, but at least I'm still alive. Look, I took that hit for you because I feared for your well-being. And I'd do it again if it meant I could protect my own sibling."

"Lincoln. I thought I was going to lose you when you were lying unconscious bleeding in the street."

"I'm here, because of what I did, not what you did. And I don't have any regrets. The only regret I dwelled on is losing my sister from something like this. Let it go Lynn." Lynn continued to sob as she embraced Lincoln and Lincoln hugged her back. He comfort her the best way he can, letting her tears drench his hospital shirt. As Lincoln passed off some tissue paper, she was able to calm down. "Just try to ease up on the recklessness alright."

"It's a deal, and don't think this means, I'm not going to stop watching your back every now and then, because I'm still your sister no matter what."

"Deal." Lincoln grabbed another wheelchair for his sister. "By the way, race you to the end of the hospital."

"Oh it is on!"

Lynn placed herself in that wheelchair. Knowing she was always up for a challenge, she had no reason to decline. Using only their hands on the wheel, the boy raced against his sister through the open hospital, cutting through the traffic of nurses and doctors. Together they burst with laughter and excitement as Lincoln was or glad to have his beloved sister back. And he would not have it any other way.


	7. Epilogue

Author's Note: Here is an epilogue for you; you can thank GennaiArakida-XIV for the idea for this. Now just to clear things up, the relationship between Brandon and Lynn was never meant to be a romance, it was more along the lines of a crush. Crushes and romances and two different things.

* * *

"Thanks for picking me up from the Royal Woods Hospital Lynn." Lincoln thanked, glad that his sister was back to her normal self.

"No problem Lincoln, they figured they leave this job to me, since I haven't been seeing you lately, besides everyone had something to do today." Lynn replied pushing Lincoln in a wheelchair. Whiling helping Lincoln get through the steps, she texted a message on her phone.

"Nice wheelchair Loud!" the grumpy neighbor, Mr. Grouse, yelled out.

"Thanks Mr. Grouse, it's very handy." Lincoln replied back. "I promise I'll get you one on your next birthday."

As they entered the house both Lincoln and Lynn were greeted with thunderous cheer. Balloons, horns and confetti rained upon the two of them. The parents, Clyde, Bobby, and the sisters screamed out, "Surprise!" to Lincoln, welcoming their son home. Lincoln was beyond shocked on this outcome, And it was not even his birthday.

"Welcome home bro!" Luna greeted her handicap brother.

This brought a smile upon Lincoln's face. "Come on guys, you didn't really have to do this."

"We know Lincoln, but we are just glad that you are out of the hospital." Lori exulted.

"Yeah, it felt like an eternity since you were not here." Leni said.

Lisa tilted her glasses and corrected Leni, "Technically, it was one hundred and ninety two hours spent in the medical facility. But I do see what you mean. For your own transportation needs elder brother, I've constructed an escalator device to assist in your current standing to get up the stairs and back. You will be able to go up and down the stairs with minimum difficulty." Lisa presented side escalator to the upstairs for Lincoln's wheelchair situation.

Lincoln patted his little sister's head. "Thanks Lisa."

"All and all, it is good to see you elder brother." Lisa went fourth and hugged her handicap brother as the other girls joined in.

"Linky, I baked you a cake." Lola presented a slice of white frosting cake.

"Let's get this party started guys, I'm dying to do a duet with my little bro." Luna cheered.

The celebration went on with Loud Family and their guest to celebrate Lincoln's epic return. Lincoln was happy to be home with his siblings as he participated in the party events. No sophistication was needed here as It was a party where each and every one of them could be themselves. From doing a duet with Luna, to messing around with party props with his twin sisters and parents, doing a comedy routine with Luan, getting involved with Lucy's spells, doing many selfies with Lori and Leni, a and racing with Lynn across the house.

When nightfall came, everyone had gone to bed early. Lincoln headed up to his room as Lynn followed. "Do you need some help?" Lynn asked as Lincoln made it to his bed.

"No thanks, I could handle it." Lincoln said as he stopped at his bed. Using both of his hands, he landed himself in bed. While his legs worked fine, he didn't have strength in his pelvis to support it. To Lynn's surprise, Lincoln was getting used to life on a wheelchair even if it was not forever. "Good night Lynn."

"Night Lincoln." Lynn replied back as she left.

The next morning, as the bathroom become crowded, Lincoln rolled his way into it to find his sisters doing their daily routine. As the sisters caught sight of Lincoln, they almost had forgotten about his situation. Quickly they moved out of the way to let their brother get through.

"Guys, come on move it, so Lincoln can get through." Lori ordered the others.

All Lincoln went to do his get toothpaste and his toothbrush. After he got his stuff, he left the bathroom.

Well perhaps being in a wheelchair wasn't so bad after all as it avoid the trouble of having to crowd his sisters. Handicap people were always entitled to many, many, passages, but he didn't want to abuse this disability. And knowing his past of abusing his opportunities, he learned enough with experience alone.

As he went downstairs for a snack, the sisters saw Lincoln again and made way for him. "Guys why are standing there, we have to make way to Lincoln..." Lori ordered the sisters.

Lincoln stopped Lori as he didn't need to be an expert to know what was really going on. So he decided to say something. "Guys, it's alright, I don't want any special treatment just because I'm like this. Just act how you normally act. It's not permanent."

Luna placed her hand on Lincoln's shoulder, "We know it's not permanent bro but we just want you to be more careful."

"Just don't make a big deal about me being like this; although I have a feeling about this kids at school will not do the same."

Lincoln left out the door, only to find himself going off the pouch steps. Heating him scream, Lynn rushed to Lincoln to help him. "Lincoln are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Lynn, just forgot about the steps. And stairs and wheelchair don't exactly mix."

"Note to self, built a ramp in the front door for the mentally disabled." Lisa reminded herself, witnessing Lincoln tumble.

"So where are you going so early?"

"I'm going to Clyde's house. I promise, I'd hang out with him after my release."

"Do you need me to go with you, what if you trip on another step?"

"No thanks Lynn; I can find my way from here." Lincoln said. Even if he said otherwise, Lynn still held a great amount of concern as she followed. Lucy stopped him causing him to nearly fall off his wheelchair.

"I need words to rhyme with sour." Lucy asked.

"Tower, cower, power, shower, and empower." Lincoln said giving his little sister some words.

She recorded the notes, "Thanks Lincoln."

* * *

Lincoln had a whole day planned ahead of him as he was getting used to life on a wheelchair. It was not all bad for the boy as it served as his personal transportation. It certainly avoided the trouble of walking on his feet. Through the process it was almost like riding a bike, but only without using the foot pedals. He wore his gloves while navigating on the wheelchair, especially when it came to hill grades.

As he made it to the house, Clyde had already foreseen him coming as he was quick to rush out the door. It felt like a really long time, but Clyde was glad to see him best friend, even if it was not the best of circumstances. Still, at least he had his health.

"Hey Lincoln, we heard that you've returned, welcome back." Harold greeted the boy.

"Good heavens Lincoln, are you alright?" Howie inquired, worried for Lincoln's condition.

"Hey Mr. McBride, Hi Mr. McBride." Lincoln addressed Clyde's dad. "And yeah, I'm fine, just getting used to this change."

"Come on in son, we are just about to have lunch." Harold said.

As Lincoln followed, his wheelchair was met with step obstacle. Before they could intervene, Lincoln waved his hand in protest insuring that he got this. He reversed, and then gripped the tires and to lifted the chair over the step. Thankfully, it was only one step at Clyde's house, so it did not prove to be that much of a problem for him.

Knowing that he did it on his own on such a short time, made Clyde and his dad's impressed with his condition. Any other person in that situation would have either gone around or even gave up. Not Lincoln however, he was maneuvering around the wheelchair like it was nothing at all. While he had his own seat at the table, he lifted himself off the wheelchair to the massage chair by using his arms. So far all his had was his upper body strength, but not his lower body.

Still as long as Lincoln was getting by on his wheelchair, neither Clyde nor his dads questioned Lincoln's condition. He still had a big day ahead of him as he received a text from his sister Luan. It was an emergency to fill in as her assistant. Following her text, he met Luan at a kid's birthday party as he promised to assist her.

"Hey Lincoln, thanks for wheeling on over here, get it?" Luan joked, as she was dressed a race car mechanic.

"No problem Luan, so what did you need?" Lincoln chirped.

"It's a race car themed party, and I really need your wheelchair on this one." Luan stated as added some parts to Lincoln's wheelchair, turning it into a nice red race car. "Now just follow my lead."

"Sounds like fun Luan."

Making their way to the center stage, Luan made her avowed to the crowd. "Vroom, vroom, everyone, who is up for a cruising good time?" Luan avowed to the crowd which let off a great amount of cheer. Luan winked at Lincoln on the side and signaled him to make his way to the center stage.

Inside of his car, Lincoln zoomed his way through the stage. On stage, she played the part as Lincoln trusty mechanic, setting up his vehicle for action. Lincoln was not the only one as there were other racers from tricycles, scooters, and skateboards. "Racers start your engines, or in this case, your pedals." Luan cackled and so did the kids. "Try not to sugarcoat it Lincoln." Luan whispered to her brother.

"You got it." Lincoln winked.

"Take your mart, get set, Go!" Luan called out as the racers dashed off. She played the part of the host as she watched the race. Lincoln played with the kids as he raced against them. The birthday boy was on the scooter trying to catch up to Lincoln. Even if the others didn't see it, he was the other one fully aware of his condition, but it didn't bother him that much. And by the insurance on his face, he did not need to be taken easy on.

When the both crash, it sent them on a spinning frenzy, leading to the finish line. Both were down, but both of them enjoyed their time together. This was not a part of Luan's birthday plans, but everyone still liked it, and at least he didn't try to upstage her this time.

As the party ended, Lincoln headed home, until Luan stopped him. "You were supposed to let the birthday boy win, but they were happy either way. Thanks again for showing up Lincoln." Luan gave him some money. "Here is your cut, figured I'd compensate you for your efforts despite, you know..." Luan pause still remembering Lincoln's wheelchair situation. In the meantime, Lynn oversaw the whole situation, and seeing how it went, she didn't need to get involved.

Lincoln took the twins to the park where they occupied the sandbox. Together Lola and Lana worked to build the finest sand castle. Off course, the two for them had different views on the finest castles. Lana wanted a fortified fortress of destruction, while Lola wanted her own pretty princess castle suited for her. They mostly fought over who gets dominance, but where it count, they always worked together.

And it was nice to get a breather from their constant fighting, since most of fights were with them. "Come on Lincoln, we have to defend the castle from the evil demon on wheels." Lana called Lincoln over.

"This demon will not take it easy on you then." Lincoln rolled over roaring, putting on a monster mask.

"Get him!" Lana and Lola teamed up on Lincoln.

Lincoln used wheelchair to evade the attacks of his younger siblings. Making monster sounds, he playfully fought the girls in this epic showdown. It wasn't until Lana blind folded him, and then Lola caught Lincoln with a tackle, knocking him off his wheelchair. When he was down, the twins rushed to his aid to see if he was okay.

"Lincoln, we're sorry, we didn't mean to attack you that hard." Lola feared.

"I'm not hurt, you two. It was fun." Lincoln shook his head. "So who wants some ice cream?"

"We do, we do!" Lana and Lola cheered. The twins helped Lincoln up to his wheelchair again as Lynn continued to watch as she resisted all temptation to interfere.

"That guy is cute, I wonder if he has any plans or a girlfriend of that matter." Leni admired the statue in nice clothing.

Lori sighed as she pointed her clueless sister in the right direction, "That's a store manikin Leni. Come on Lincoln, huddle with those bags."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Lincoln said rolling with a chair full of bags.

Lincoln's next destination took him to the Royal Woods Mall where he accompanied his elder sisters Lori and Leni on their shopping spree. With each purchase, Lincoln was their own personal shopping cart. He usually was not a fan of shopping, but he endured it for the sake of his sister's happiness. If there was one thing he always agreed on that was compromise.

But with how many bags he was carrying, he sometimes made it hard to see. Lincoln felt so much tenseness in his muscles as he struggled to keep the bags steady. Luckily Leni helped him out by removing a couple of the bag, sitting in his blind spot. She also offered him a nice strawberry smoothie as a gift for his hard work. Lori did the same by offering him a Churro, while he had his hands full with bags; she fed it to him by hand into his mouth.

Even if he made it clear, he didn't need to be pampered, it was nice to see his efforts being rewarded. As Lincoln was dragged around the young jock continued to watch her brother from afar. Not once did she let her eyes of handicap Lincoln. Lynn still held her eyes out for her little brother as he was being dragged around by Lori and Leni.

"Hey there, paranoid much?" Brandon surprised Lynn. She turned around face to see Brandon carrying a bag.

Sending a chill down her spine, she fired back. "Gee Brandon, ninja much? What are you doing here?"

"I was doing some ports shopping for new material then I saw you, so I thought I'd say hi. If your worried about those guys, then don't be, each and every one of them received guilty sentences, so they won't be getting out until they grow to full maturity." Brandon noticed the sunglasses over her head, so he decided to ask. "By the looks of it, I'd say you've been doing this for a while."

Brandon was not far from the mark. "Hey, I'm just keeping tabs on him to make sure he doesn't get into any danger."

"By my account, seems like you're the one who is in danger." Brandon said pointing to a mall cop, watching Lynn's movement. Already he was suspicions of her. And even started to draw attention of most of the mall shopper.

"That is the least of my worries right now, because it's my fault that he is handicap. And now he has to deal with this burden of not walking."

Knowing the mall cop was still staring at Lynn, Brandon decided to drag her away from sight. "So tell me in your own words, does that look like he is struggling to you?" Brandon inquired.

Lynn took another good look for herself. As she started to reflect upon all of Lincoln's encounters, she now started to see the point Brandon was making. Not one spec of sadness clouded his face. In fact, he endured most of his struggled and never gave up on it.

Each moment with his other sisters only gave him hope and the happiness he needs to push on. Whether he was new to being on handicap or not, it never stopped him from being himself, nor losing hope even if it was not forever. The more Lynn saw his determination, the more foolish she felt being so worked up.

Brandon placed both hands on Lynn's shoulders, "People with disability tends to endure Lynn, and makes use of their other body parts. It doesn't matter if they are blind, deaf or mute, that does not stop them from living their life the way they want to, because that is what makes them strong on the inside." Lynn did not face Brandon's eyes. "If you truly do love your brother, then support him just like your sisters."

As Lincoln returned home, he fulfilled his promise of spending time with his other elder sister Luna. While watching her jam in the garage, she overheard the sounds of his wheelchair. That suddenly gave her an cool idea. And knowing her passion for music, she always loved to improvise.

"Dig the rockin wheelchair bro; try moving around with it some more!" Luna boasted feeling that music vibe within Lincoln.

With the combined might of Luna's ax and Lincoln's wheelchair, they had their own jam session. So what if Lincoln didn't have an instrument, the wicked sounds he made was enough to create a tone. Luna's creativity in music really shined through as the jammed together.

After the final string, she shouted from the top of her lungs. "Thank you Royal Woods!" The session was so hard that it made both of them sweat.

Resting after a long day with his sisters, he decided to play with his younger sister Lily. While sitting on the couch out of his wheelchair, he tossed Lily up in the air. With every catch and toss, the young infant giggled at Lincoln. As he grasped Lily, he was glad to be back at his chaotic household.

When Lucy walked in after her daily night walks, Lincoln asked. "Hey Lucy did you see Lynn around?"

"I have not." Lucy answered.

"Right, well Lily is getting tired, can you put her to bed?"

"Sure," Lucy took the baby off of Lincoln's hands.

Lynn then walked in the house also yawning constantly. "Hey Lynn, did you have a long day?"

Lynn yawned again, "Oh you don't know the half of it."

"Oh I think I know enough, must have been really hard keeping a close eye on little old me." Lincoln guessed as Lynn was found out. She was officially busted. "Come on Lynn I told you before, I can handle myself."

"I…know you can. But it still kind of scares me Lincoln."

"You've had broken bones before."

"Maybe, but I was never in a wheelchair like you, especially because it was cause by me. But seeing how you're able to endure such a hardship made me envious. If it was me in that situation never to walk again, I don't think I could handle it. Your more stronger than I've ever imagine Lincoln. Me keeping watch on you made it feel like I was looking down on you."

"No it didn't Lynn, it just means you care. And there is nothing wrong with caring too much, in fact I rely on it from you as well as the others." Lynn placed his hand on Lynn's shoulder. "Let's just agree to always watch each other's backs for now on."

This brought a smile to her face, "Now if I watch yours first."

"So how about we play some catch in the backyard." Lincoln said grabbing a baseball and a glove. Lincoln stood on his toes. At first he was a happy that he was better, but then felt a slight crack in his pelvis, saying otherwise. "Ow, ow, Charlie horse!"

"I got you buddy." Lynn brought Lincoln him back on his wheelchair. She helped him back, holding all worry as she could. As she held him she embraced him in a hug, insuring that she will not let him down again. "I always will."

Lincoln wrapped his arm around Lynn's shoulder as they went in the backyard together for a game of catch. "Don't worry Lynn, I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon."

FIN


End file.
